This disclosure relates to a generator rotor and its rotor circuit. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a bus bar and rectifier assembly.
A generator includes a stator fixed relative to a housing and a rotor rotatable about an axis relative to the stator. The rotor includes a rotor frame carrying a rotor circuit that includes field turns and a rectifier assembly, which has diodes. Rotation of the rotor relative to the stator induces an alternating current in the field turns, which is converted to a DC voltage by the rectifier assembly.
The rectifier assembly includes an exciter housing that supports multiple circumferentially spaced crescents. Each crescent supports a diode pack connected to a bus bar. The diode packs are cooled by a spray of oil, and the bus bars are cooled by conduction to the diode packs. The bus bars extend circumferentially within the exciter housing. The bus bars are constructed from copper and occasionally break over time due to centrifugal forces, vibration and thermal cycling, resulting in fatigue and breakage of the copper material.